Appalachian Labor Party
The Appalachian Labor Party was founded in 2016, a year before independence was declared to form the Appalachian People's Republic. The party is guided by the principles of multi tendency Democratic Socialism as well as Appalachian sovereignty and independence, since then the ALP has formed a more Marxist orientation. The ALP after its founding quickly became a force for Appalachian secession. Its swift and successful campaign to free the APR has made it so that the party has secured lots of positive views from the populace, with the first general election resulting in 67% of the popular vote and the party securing 70% of the seats in Parliament. Since then the ALP has been considered by some to be the natural ruling party of the nation, having yet to lose the majority of the vote. After a series of small skirmishes with reactionary forces, the ALP held an emergency conference and passed a resolution to expand the military. Structure The ALP is headed by a central committee that holds elections every 2 years. The central committee is in charge with running the party's administrative functions, as well as approving candidates for elections. These bi-yearly elections coincide with the party's National Convention, where local chapters send delegates to vote on the central committee members, as well as other things such as platform amendments and passing a party budget. During the presidential election years, the party holds a closed primary to select the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate. The ALP has several recognized caucuses organized within the party. Caucus membership is informal and not required to be a delegate or be on the central committee. The following caucuses exist in the party: 1. Socialist Caucus (Left-Wing): Making up a majority of the party's caucus membership is the Socialist Caucus. This caucus is dedicated to keeping the party on the path to Democratic Socialism, and as such rejects reformism as an end goal. The president and vice president of the Appalachian People's Republic were members of the caucus before being elected. 2. Eco-socialist Caucus (Left-wing): This caucus is dedicated to keeping the party's principles in line with an ecological worldview. It's a moderate size caucus, but is none the less influential helping to pass some of the party's Green platform points. 3. Social Democratic Caucus (Center-Left): This caucus was formed after the APR declared independence. It seeks to establish a robust social welfare state and a mixed economic system, similar to the kind that exists right now. However unlike the 2 biggest caucuses in the party, it does not reject capitalism instead opting to secure social welfare and labor rights while also supporting small and medium sized businesses. Membership in the SDC is relatively small compared to the above 2 but still holds political clout. Before the 2026 elections the social democrats decided to split from the party and govern in opposition. There is still a social democratic presence within the party but they are much smaller. 4. Nationalist Caucus (Center-left to Left wing): The Nationalist caucus is the smallest of the 4 recognized caucuses. This caucus is not concerned with economics but is mostly concerned to the party's goal of safe guarding Appalachian sovereignty, and protecting Appalachian culture. The caucus has at times come under fire for their views, but they officially state they are against supremacy of any kind, and opt to instead educate people and preserve the existing customs of the APR. Platform Since the founding congress in 2016, the ALP has established a 20 point platform: 1. We view Appalachia as being a unique cultural region much different from the United States. For far too long the oppressors has ignored the plights of Appalachian people. Therefore we call upon the unconditional secession, along the borders under control of the Appalachian Regional Commission 2. We believe in bolstering civil and fair trade relations with our neighbors. 3. We will impose tariffs on foreign energy companies that wish to operate within Appalachia, the expenditure of that money will go to housing and healthcare. 4. We call for a Single Payer Healthcare system to provide for healthcare to all Appalachian people. 5. We call on a temporary emergency state to fix Appalachia's failing infrastructure and severe poverty, corporate top tax rates will be temporarily capped at 75% to pay for repairs to Appalachian infrastructure updates and improvements, as well as build more hospitals and clinics. This state will last no longer than 5 years unless approved of by General Assembly. 6. We call for a regular top corporate tax rate of 55% and a top individual tax rate at 55%. 7. We call for a minimum wage no less than $12 an hour, adjusted to cost of living every 2 years. 8. We call for the Nationalization of Electricity, Water, Sewer, and Internet Service Providers to provide low cost internet and utilities to impoverished appalachians. 9. Appalachians will be free to form unions inside their workplaces free of government retaliation. 10. We call for the nationalization of the Appalachian Regional Commission. 11. We call for a proportional representation system for the General Assembly with party list voting to ensure a healthy democratic process. 12. We will pass a modernized Bill of Rights protecting speech, privacy, and assembly while also protecting LGBTQ+, POC, and other at risk populations from violence and hate speech. 13. We will pass policies that will make Appalachia the greenest nation in the western hemisphere, and to protect Appalachia's natural beauty. 14. Mountain top removal will be banned. 15. We believe in free of charge College tuition for low income students and low cost college tuition for everyone else 16. We are pro nuclear power, but we believe in phasing out old nuclear power plants and replacing them with Thorium MSR nuclear power. 17. In the age of the internet, we believe the electoral college's purpose is obsolete. Therefore we support the election of the president via a popular vote. 18. We believe in direct democracy, therefore we believe any citizen can propose a ballot initiative so long as they acquire 10,000 signatures. The ballot initiative will be voted on by the general population during the next election year. 19. We stand strictly opposed to the United Nations, the IMF, NATO, and any purposed North American unions. 20. We are pro choice and believe in low cost women's healthcare.